Anesthesia error results in $1.23M verdict

 Maria Garcia underwent surgery to remove her thyroid and parathyroid glands in her neck but she never recovered from surgery. It turned out that during the procedure the anesthesiologist failed to realize the patient’s breathing tube had moved, preventing the 66-year-old woman  from breathing on her own and depriving oxygen to her brain. The 2008 incident in Michigan resulted recently in a $1.23 million medical malpractice verdict for Garcia’s family. The jury deliberated three days before handing down its verdict, only the second significant medical malpractice lawsuit in Kalamazoo County in the past eight years. The only larger medical malpractice award was $2 million in the 1980s, according to a news report of the case. Learn about anesthesia medical malpractice lawsuits.